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My husband brought his ex-girlfriend into our home, and the two of them dropped to their knees.
"Laurel Swanson, Bianca White's been diagnosed with leukemia. You're the only bone marrow match for her. Please, I'm begging you, donate to her. It won't hurt you at all."
My mother-in-law was crying too. "Bianca's a good girl. I watched her grow up. Please, save her!"
I was about to soften and agree when warning pop-ups flashed across my vision.
【Run! Whatever you do, do not get on that operating table! She doesn't have leukemia at all. It's end-stage kidney failure!】
【Your husband wants you dead! That match report is a forgery. The moment they put you under, the doctor they've bribed is going to cut out one of your kidneys!】
【When you wake up, your husband and that woman will have taken your company, and you'll be locked in a basement, starved to death! Your parents will be run down by a car on their way to find you!】
I stared at the two of them pretending to weep, and cold sweat soaked through my back in an instant.
"No. I can't. I have hepatitis B."
……
The living room went quiet for a few seconds.
My mother-in-law, who'd been dabbing at her eyes on the sofa, changed color at once.
"So what if you have hepatitis B? Drawing a little bone marrow won't kill you!"
She shot to her feet and jabbed a finger at my face, screaming.
"Bianca's all alone in the world, and she finally found a match, and you're this cruel? You'd just let her die!"
I frowned.
"Do you know the first thing about medicine? For someone with a weakened immune system, a hepatitis B infection is very often fatal."
"Are you trying to save her, or push her into the grave faster?"
Right on cue, Bianca started coughing, tears hanging off her chin, ready to fall.
"Auntie, don't blame her. It's just my rotten luck…"
"To have a husband as good as Ned, I already envy her so much. I would never dare ask her to save my life."
Ned held Bianca up like it broke his heart, then turned to me, brow knotted tight.
"Laurel, hepatitis B isn't untreatable. We can go get your levels checked first."
"If your numbers come back normal, you can still save Bianca."
"You rescue stray cats, for God's sake. This is a living person. You can't just stand by and watch her die!"
My mother-in-law was still throwing her fit. "Hmph. If you ask me, she's just selfish. Making excuses!"
"Enough." I cut her off, cold. "My body is mine. If I say I can't donate, then I can't donate."
The pop-ups drifted past again just then.
【That's right. Ignore them. They're guilt-tripping you.】
【And don't drink the water Ned's about to hand you. There's a strong sedative in it. They mean to haul you straight to the illegal clinic!】
【This morning, he already changed the beneficiary on your twenty-million accident policy to himself.】
My nails dug deep into my palm. I used the pain to keep myself razor-sharp.
Ned watched my hard, cold face, and suddenly his voice went soft.
"All right, Laurel, don't be upset. I was too anxious. I didn't think about your health."
He turned and walked to the water cooler, poured a cup of warm water, and came back to me.
"Drink some water first, calm down. We'll talk over the bone marrow again tomorrow."
"Fine." I looked at that tender, devoted face of his and pretended to take a big gulp.
The second he turned to soothe his mother and Bianca, I pulled out a tissue and spat every drop back into it.
And at the bottom of the cup, I left a little of the water behind on purpose.
